The Official Wine Thread

[jcusey]



Biodynamics seems like mostly hocus pocus but never had a bad biodynamics wine except for the occasional ones with a whiff of sulfur

Some of the biodynamic approach to planting, with cover crops and the livestock, make some amount of sense to me. Burying cow horns filled with manure, on the other hand, is firmly in the realm of the crazy. I don't dislike seeing certified biodynamic wineries, though, because the wines are usually good. My theory is that somebody paying a lot of attention to the grapes is a good thing, even if some of that somebody's ideas are insane.

 

[Piobaire]

I'm not sure why the Tannat coming out of Paso is not unduly tannic but it's not. I mean, there's certainly tannins there but less grippy than a whole bunch of left coast Cabs. I know that Linne and Ledge are just barrel aging it but don't know what Tobin is doing as I've never done more than hit their tasting room. Just checked the Ledge website and it's sold out: http://www.ledgevineyards.com/produ...E41-977E1F4DBA83&sortBy=PriceDesc&maxRows=10&

 

[Piobaire]

Had this with a grilled shrimp salad and it was wonderful. This will not be a style for everyone but a ton of tropical fruit and tropical flowers. Honeysuckle and orange blossom, white peach and mango. Barrel fermented, agitated over the lees, toasty nuts. A really unctuous mouth feel. Again, I know not everyone will like this, but I have loved it since the first vintage I tried.

 

[RedLantern]

^ sounds interesting.

The Costco near me (costco #1) just started carrying the ME pinot. I think it was $35 or $45. Too steep for me to grab on a whim, but I might splurge if its well-regarded noteworthy for some reason or another.

 

[indesertum]

Thats not a bad price at all

 

[Piobaire]

At that price it's most likely her Sonoma Coast but could maybe be the RRV blend. If it's SVD then it's a steal. Merry is the grand dam of wining making in Sonoma.

 

[Medwed]

I think it is SF member "Edmorel" who recommended this club many years ago. Just stumble upon it again and felt like posting the link. I have been a member for over 6 years and it has been nothing but great. Highly recommend these people and their Champagne club.
https://dandm.com/clubs/champagne-society.html

 

[RedLantern]

Opened my 97' domaine du columbier Hermitage that I bought at auction a little bit ago (celebrating Xmas with my family tonight) and it was badly spoiled cork was in perfect condition though?

 

[dwlbu]



Opened my 97' domaine du columbier Hermitage that I bought at auction a little bit ago (celebrating Xmas with my family tonight) and it was badly spoiled cork was in perfect condition though?

That SUCKS! Winebid?

 

[RedLantern]

Yeah. Being very inexperienced with older wines, I'm not sure what might have caused it to become so badly spoiled. I was under the impression that a wine that was improperly stored would show signs of seepage, a great amount of ullage, or at least a dry cork? Is it possible that it was corked or otherwise contaminated on a microbial level which was then amplified by age?

 

[RedLantern]

I didn't pay an ungodly amount of money for it or anything, so I'm not super bent out of shape, just dissapointed cause I really wanted to taste that wine! In other news the 2011 Covington Cellars Syrah that FP offered during their anniversary week is really good.

 

[jcusey]

Some recent wines. As usual, all images pilfered.

I think Greek wines are enjoying something of a moment now -- Houston had a restaurant with an all-Greek wine list open last year to a lot of buzz, and it seems like every respectable purveyor of wines has at least a half dozen different bottlings. Sigalas Assyrtiko is probably the one that I see most frequently. This was a strange wine for me. There's a ton of acidity, but it has the big body and mouth-coating texture that I would associate with something a lot fatter. I didn't dislike it, but I wasn't driven to the fits of rapture that it seems some reviewers have been.

Ryme seems to have a lot of enthusiasm for relatively obscure Italian varietals -- Fiano, Ribolla Gialla, Vermentino, Aglianico. It's a husband-and-wife team, and the wines are produced at the Wind Gap winery, where the husband is an assistant winemaker for Pax Mahle's Pax wines.I bought this because I don't recall ever having seen a Fiano, not even one from Italy. This is similar to the Sigalas Assyrtiko above in that there's a lot of acidity coupled with a big body that's somewhat confusing to me. It has plenty of fruit, but there's a lot of savoriness, too. I didn't love this, but it's interesting enough that I would like to try it again.

Poggio di Sotto is currently in the Kermit Lynch stable; but apparently, the previous importer, Robert Chadderton, had some older stock in Europe that he wanted to get rid of. In any case, the 2003 of this showed up on my friendly neighborhood retailer's shelf. I had had and loved the 2007 and 2010 versions, so he must have seen me coming a mile away. I loved this. It's still pretty dark (for Sangiovese) and tannic, and it doesn't have any of that musty forest floor thing that I associate with old red wine. Lots of fruit, lots of herbs, lots of tomatoes, lots of acid. 2003 was supposedly a very hot year in Tuscany, but this isn't overly alcoholic. Just excellent.

I don't drink much Prosecco. I haven't liked much that I've had, even from well-regarded producers (like Adami). Still, my friendly wine monger recommended this bottling, and I said what the heck. Cartizze is supposedly one of the best locations to grow Glera grapes. In any event, this was more satisfying than most Prosecco I have had. It's Dry, so there is a bit of noticeable sweetness; I'd say it's on a similar level to a feinherb Riesling. The dominant aroma is apples; if served blind, I might have thought that this was hard cider. There is also some minerality there, so it has a bit more interest than you typically find. It was okay, but I don't think I'll be rushing to buy more.

 

[jcusey]



Yeah. Being very inexperienced with older wines, I'm not sure what might have caused it to become so badly spoiled. I was under the impression that a wine that was improperly stored would show signs of seepage, a great amount of ullage, or at least a dry cork? Is it possible that it was corked or otherwise contaminated on a microbial level which was then amplified by age?

I'm no expert about either old wines or the multiplicity of ways wine can be spoiled, but I think that while heat damage and seepage often go hand in hand, it is possible to have the one without the other. As for corked wine, that's a TCA infection that's present from the moment the wine is bottled (or earlier, if it's the winery equipment that's contaminated with TCA instead of the corks); it won't cause the cork to fail or to appear dodgy in any way.

When you say that the wine was badly spoiled, what do you mean? Did it smell like wet cardboard? Like horseshit? Was it oxidized?

 

[Piobaire]

Assyrtiko is one of those grapes that sommeliers seem to favour. Albarino is another white grape that is in favour with them right now too. I'll admit to currently being on the Albarino from Rias Baixas bandwagon. $12-20 bucks buys a really nice bottle.

 

[RedLantern]



I'm no expert about either old wines or the multiplicity of ways wine can be spoiled, but I think that while heat damage and seepage often go hand in hand, it is possible to have the one without the other. As for corked wine, that's a TCA infection that's present from the moment the wine is bottled (or earlier, if it's the winery equipment that's contaminated with TCA instead of the corks); it won't cause the cork to fail or to appear dodgy in any way.

When you say that the wine was badly spoiled, what do you mean? Did it smell like wet cardboard? Like horseshit? Was it oxidized?

It appeared somewhat oxidized - a bit brownish - but that's not unexpected, given the age. Tasted very muck like dirt and a bit vinegary. Very strong tasting. The description noted that it was removed from a professional wine storage facility (though I guess there is no indication that it lived it's entire life there).